This invention relates generally to enterprise architectures, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a method, system, and storage medium for creating and maintaining an enterprise architecture.
An enterprise architecture has been defined as a framework designed to coordinate the many aspects of an enterprise. It is the overall plan that integrates business goals, visions, strategies and governance principles with business operations, such as organizational structure, processes, and data. These, in turn, are integrated with application systems, databases, and the enabling technological infrastructure of the business such as computers, operating systems and networks. Creating an effective enterprise architecture can be difficult due to its inherent complex nature and the inevitable challenges faced in attempting to create synergy among the various interdependent components that comprise the enterprise architecture. Even when an enterprise architecture has been successfully created, the challenges of assessing the ongoing vitality and efficacy of the system, as well as the challenges of redesigning or upgrading the system as the needs of the business change over time, must be considered and addressed.
Current attempts to address these issues include solutions that tackle the efficacy of the architecture, either by analyzing what currently exists, or by providing design guidance on how to create a flexible architecture. What is needed is a way to create and sustain an enterprise architecture.